Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

The ‘Carers (Scotland) Act 2016' implemented from April 2018 provides carers with additional rights NHS Western Isles will support carers by providing support with the following:

Going into hospital

Going into and coming out of hospital can be an uncertain and sometimes emotional experience for families. For some, it is a life changing event requiring major adjustments afterward.

Many carers feel insufficiently involved and unsupported in the discharge process. However, we know that if hospital discharge is well-planned and the right services put in place then there is a much greater likelihood of the cared for person remaining at home with carer support.

This means identifying the carer at an early stage and ensuring that the carer is involved in discussions regarding the care plan and have a clear understanding of the person they care for diagnosis, what they can expect and an understanding of their role as carer and the support they might have to provide and a Discharge Plan will be put in place.

What is a discharge Plan?

As soon as people are admitted to hospital a process of planning should begin to find out what services and support they may need when they leave. By the time they leave hospital a clear discharge plan should be in place. This planning process should ensure that when people leave hospital they and, with their consent (or when appropriate) you as their carer, know about the following:

1. Their Medical Condition
   This should include information on treatment, medication and future medical appointments. It should also include the names of the person's GP, Consultant and named nurse.
   
2. Services and support
   This should include information on the services that have been agreed and that will be in place for the person returning home, for example, home help and community nurse. See Useful Contacts for numbers.

How is discharge planned?

If the person needs to be cared for and supported for the first time or if their care and support needs have changed, it is important to make sure the right support and services are put in place.

The patient and, with their consent you as their carer, should be involved in decisions and choices about their care. If services are already in place for the person, the main issues for discharge planning are to make sure that services and support will continue as before.

Where possible, you will be given 48 hours notice before the person you care for leaves hospital. Most patients do not require to be in hospital for long and discharge planning should start early after admission to hospital.

You may be given an expected discharge date to keep you informed and allow you to make any arrangements required. The following key people are usually involved in the discharge planning process:

1. Named Nurse
   They are the main contact person while the patient is in hospital, overseeing the care provided and plans made for leaving hospital.
   
2. The Consultant
   They decide what medical care should be provided and decide when the patient is well enough to leave hospital.
   
3. Pharmacist
   They provide the medication required for the patient and information on how and when it should be taken.
   
4. Patient Flow Manager
   There is a Patient Flow Manager available at the hospital who can assist in:
   • referring onto social work for a carers assessment of needs;
   • involving carers in discharge planning; and
   • highlighting and signposting carer organisations in the community.

Listed below are some of the other people who may be involved when requested and when necessary:

• Hospital Social Worker
• Occupational Therapist
• Physiotherapist
• Speech and Language Therapist
• Dietician
• Community Mental Health Nurse.

What is the Carers Act and what does this mean?

The intention of the Act is to ensure that Scotland's estimated 745,000 adult carers and 44,000 young carers are better supported on a more consistent basis, so that they can continue to care, if they so wish, in good health and to have a life alongside caring.

Moreover, in relation to young carers, the intention is that young carers should have a childhood similar to their non-carer peers.

The Act includes, amongst other things:

• a duty on Local Authorities and NHS Boards to involve carers in the delivery and planning of services including hospital discharge
• a duty on Local Authorities and NHS Boards to involve carers in the development of Local Carer Strategies setting out how they will deliver the requirements of the Carers Act over a three year period.
• a duty on Local Authorities to provide support to carers, based on the carer's identified needs which meet local eligibility criteria.
• a specific Adult Carer Support Plan and Young Carer Statement to identify carers' needs and personal outcomes.
• a requirement for each Local Authority to have its own information and advice service for carers which must provide information and advice on, amongst other things, emergency and future care planning, advocacy, income maximisation and carers' rights.

What are your rights?

The most important right that you have as a carer is to be listened to and to have your views taken into account. This means:

• you should be asked if you are able and willing to provide some or all of the care that is needed
• you should be consulted about the services that could be provided for the person you care for
• if you are providing a lot of care, then you may well need help and support, so that ‘caring' doesn't take over your life and cause you ill health.

In such cases, you are entitled to have a discussion with someone from your local council, GP about what help would be useful to you. This is called an assessment of your support needs.

By law, you have a right to be given an assessment of your support needs which social work will use to provide you with an Adult Carer Support Plan.

This assessment is the duty of the local council in association with the local health authority; however it may be given over to another agency, for example, a local Carers Organisation. You have the right to telephone the council number for your area or for the area the person you care for lives in and ask for an assessment of your support needs because you are a carer.

Support for young carers

Are there children or young people in your family who are helping you because you have a long-term illness or a disability, or are helping you to care for someone else in the family?

They could be providing personal care or physical care including domestic tasks, looking after brothers or sisters or paying household bills. They might also be providing emotional support to you or the person you care for by, for example, spending time listening to problems instead of time with friends.

If the answer is ‘yes' then they may well be what we call ‘young carers'. You (and they) might not like this title but it gives them rights. In particular they have a right to an assessment of their support needs by their local council.

If you are a young person, please visit Young Scot: Everything you need to know about The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016